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The second-largest diamond ever found—a 2,492-carat rough diamond—was unearthed in Botswana at a mine owned by Canada’s Lucara Diamond Company.
This is the largest discovery since the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond found in South Africa in 1905. The Cullinan Diamond was cut into nine individual gems, most of which are set in the British Crown Jewels.
The diamond was found in the Karowe mine, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) north of Botswana’s capital, Gaborone.
The Botswana government said it was the largest diamond ever found in the southern African country.
Botswana’s previous largest discovery was a 1,758-carat gem found in the same mine in 2019.
Botswana is one of the largest diamond producers in the world. About 20% of global production.
Lucara said in a statement that the diamond is “one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed.”
“We are very excited to have found this extraordinary 2,492 carat diamond,” said William Lamb, head of Lucara.
Mr Lamb said the diamond was detected using Lucara’s giant diamond recovery X-ray technology.
Since 2017, it has been used to identify and preserve high-value diamonds before they break during the ore crushing process.
The company did not disclose details such as the quality and value of the gem.
However, the Financial Times reported that unnamed sources close to Lucara estimated the gem could be worth more than $40m (£30.6m).
The 1,758-carat gem was discovered in 2019 and was purchased by French fashion house Louis Vuitton for an undisclosed price.
A 1,109-carat diamond unearthed from the same mine in 2016 was purchased by London jeweler Laurence Graff, chairman of Graff Diamonds, for $53 million in 2017.
Lucara owns 100% of the Karowe mine.
Botswana’s government has proposed a law requiring companies awarded mining licenses to sell a 24 percent stake to a local firm if the government does not exercise its option to become a shareholder, Reuters reported last month.
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